


Relaxed Comfort

by weirdwithhumor



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Derek Uses His Words, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Possibly Pre-Slash, Stiles Stilinski Takes Care Of Derek Hale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-09 16:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8900062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weirdwithhumor/pseuds/weirdwithhumor
Summary: It's take the pack investigating a missing person case and something going wrong for Derek and Stiles to get their shit together.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [howl-to-the-wind (greenleaf)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenleaf/gifts).



> Hello there! This work is for dedicated @howl-at-the-wind on Tumblr & Ao3. It was made for a secret santa #eternalstereksecretsanta16 on Tumblr. It's also posted on their blog, but as a rough draft. 
> 
> This version is more edited by [nicole-lynne](https://www.wattpad.com/user/nicole-lynne) on wattpad.
> 
> Everything after season four did not happen. This follows up about a year after S4 finale, and Stiles, Scott, and Lydia are Seniors. 
> 
> As always, please do not copy, steal, or post my works anywhere else. ©
> 
> I do not Teen Wolf or anyone in it. I simply borrowed the character and made them my temporary puppets.

It originated about two weeks ago.

When his dad, Sheriff Noah Stilinski, brought up a problem at the weekly pack meeting. Every day for a week, by dawn, the station would receive a call about another missing civilian. The voice remained distinguished and crackled each time before they hung up the phone. There were no names, no clues as to who was missing, nor the place they were last seen. With no leads, Noah brushed it off as a prank. After weeks of calls, family and loved ones trailed in to file missing person reports.

People began to worry at the town’s number of missing people. There were a dozen missing in just a month, but for weeks no one had noticed. The station followed many leads, calling numbers and visiting every address that came their way, but they came up with nothing. The next time the kidnapper called they tried to trace their location, but alas bore the same result. There were no similarities in the missing people as the victims’ ages and races varied widely. With nothing else to go on, Noah took his newly acquired knowledge of the supernatural and asked the pack to look into it.

Noah didn't go to the meetings often. Part of the reason was apprehension. He still had trouble recognizing that the supernatural existed, and that his son’s best friend was a high ranking werewolf—an Alpha. As Sheriff of Beacon Hills, he thought Stiles might’ve gotten into a less threatening line of work. Yet there was his son, a senior in high school and knee deep in the supernatural community.

At that pack meeting—hosted in Derek’s bat cave of an apartment—Stiles jumped into research shortly after his dad left. The former kept nagging at Derek to find better living quarters, but still hadn't managed to convince him. They established a plan for Scott, Derek, and Malia to comb the woods for a scent. Stiles and Lydia would hang back and put their high IQ to the test. By order, Liam stayed with them. He wasn't happy about it, but he knew he still had problems controlling his shift. Scott couldn't risk him being out in the woods just days before the full moon.

The wolves came back an hour later. As they raced northeast, the odor of death, blood, and something inhuman became stronger. Having no idea what they were up against, they left to regroup at Derek's loft. Stiles knew it meant they were dealing with not only a kidnapper, but a murderer as well.

It took a week to get close enough to capture a better scent and sight of what they were dealing with. They found a cave that reeked of death, and they found exactly what they expected. Derek shivered at the tower of bodies in the center of the cave, looking away when he locked eyes with a corpse’s soulless ones. Malia crouched to the soil and patted at the traces of the prints.

“It’s been here recently,” she said, “I've seen these marks before.”

Before anyone could make out what, Derek was lifted and slammed into the bulwark. He shifted, eyes blazing as he gazed at the creature in front him. Skeletonized and beheaded, it took a gander at him with beady eyes. He snarled at the fresh scent of blood; it hissed back. Derek flinched, immobilized, as the creature turned around and hooked onto Derek's side. A harsh half-stifled howl shook the cave structure. He doubled over in pain as the creature was ripped away from him. He grunted as someone hoisted him in their arms. He could feel the wound trying to heal itself, but something was wrong. The typical itching sensation wasn’t there, nor was the snugness around the wound or the numbness.

“Scott! He isn't healing. We got to get to Deaton's.” Derek groaned. Someone was running while carrying him. His head felt fuzzy, and each jolt sent shudders of pain to his side. He simply shut his eyes and closed everything out around him. Before passing out, Derek heard Malia moan in disgust-- “Ugh, it’s going to take forever to get that smell out of my nose.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing Derek heard when he opened his eyes was, “Oh good, you're awake!”

The werewolf turned toward the sound, however the pain in his side halted his efforts. “Fuck,” he groaned, eyes turning down. The wound was nicely secured with gauze and medical tape, things he kept in the house for the humans. There was a blood stain about the size of a quarter on the bandage. Derek didn't think he was unconscious for long, but regardless, the wound should’ve already healed. He went to peel at the dressing, but a familiar hand stopped him.

“Stop that!” Stiles hissed, crouching beside him. “We don't need it to get infected.”

Derek sighed. None of this was making sense. Not only was the wound not healed, but beside his own, Stiles’ heartbeat was the only one in the apartment. Stiles noticed his confusion and explained, “The thing we were looking for was Blemmyes. It’s, um, a cannibal. They’re usually found in North Africa, but sometimes find themselves wandering overseas. Actually, in the past decade, ten percent of the species have migrated to colder—”

“Stiles,” Derek said, cutting him off, “get to the point.” Stiles nodded and swallowed once. The werewolf peered at his friend's throat, and hated how much he wanted to sink marks into the fair skin. He had long settled that he will never be able to satisfy those urges.

“So after the thing attacked you, Scott managed to find its weak spot and took it down. Obviously, the, uh, neck part of it,where it had no head? It’s sensitive. Malia had a flare, no idea why, and Scott jammed it in. Malia had already gotten you out by the time it exploded, but Scott wasn't so lucky. He’ll be complaining for days about how life—”

“Stiles!” Derek said, nearly growling. He would never do anything to harm the person who means the most to him, but Stiles really knew how to push him. “Why haven't I healed?”

“Oh, right! Well, Malia, um, carried you to Deaton’s, ” Derek huffed, “he didn't know why you weren't healing until we discovered what attacked you. The Blemmyes is a man eater, but its bite is harmful to the supernatural. Deaton had to stop your wolf from trying to heal you. Something about you needing to flush out the poison.”

The werewolf didn't like what he was hearing, but he knew that Deaton must have had his reasons. Not that he approved of messing with his wolf. He figured the wound would mend at human speed. “If the thing is taken care of and we're no longer in danger, then why are you here and nobody else?” It came off ruder than he intended, but it wasn't surprising.

A flash of hurt crossed Stiles’ face before it transformed into something else, almost imperceptible, but the werewolf saw it. Another reason not to pursue anything with the younger man—Derek brought on more harm than good.

In the beginning, the werewolf had sworn off all humans and made sure to keep his distance. He’d tried roughing Stiles up, snarling, and intimidation. It had worked up until Erica’s death. Her passing, in addition to Boyd's not long after, was too much for the Alpha. It didn't help that after the Alphas were defeated, he needed to surrender his red eyes to his dying sister, and his only Beta left him. At that point, when Stiles offered a shoulder to lean on, the new Beta accepted. It later transformed into weekly under-the-cover cuddles. Derek would sob for for quite a long time into Stiles’ neck, but the boy never complained. There were times where they came close to kissing, but the werewolf would remember that Stiles was underage and stopped it.

Derek couldn't use that excuse any longer, seeing as Stiles turned eighteen months ago. However, it was replaced with another. As a wolf, Derek was a tactful creature, and known to mate for life. Although he had the ability to separate the wolf and human parts of himself, he was still one individual. He never pursued a relationship without the expectation of something serious. Indeed, even with Kate, she was older and more experienced, and he thought she wanted more than to wipe out the greater part of his family.

Stiles might be of age, but he was still youthful and free. The only kind of relationship he had was with Malia, Derek’s cousin. That didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. At the time, Derek was simply settling that he didn't dislike the human, while Malia grappled with being human. He was thankful that Stiles could be the person to help her be normal. They broke it off shortly before the start of Senior year, as they both knew it wouldn't go anywhere.

Senior year was coming to a close, which brought another reason to Derek’s list of ‘Reasons Why Kissing Stiles Would Be a Bad Idea’ (the title was a work-in-progress). Once Senior year was over, many people in the pack would leave for college. Stiles would leave for college. Derek couldn’t start anything for fear that Stiles would leave him heartbroken, or worse, remain in Beacon Hills for him. Stiles had confessed during one of their cuddle sessions that he hoped to get into a decent college and become a kindergarten teacher. It made sense that Stiles would have no desire to be a cop after years of chasing the obscure, but the werewolf still wouldn't have guessed he wanted to be a teacher.

Derek planned to keep his feelings to himself, let Stiles go off to college, and wait for him. If he came back unattached, the werewolf would make his move. If not, he’d move on.

“Deaton said that you might need something to help,” Stiles said, breaking him out of thought, “I offered since we’ve been getting closer lately. I, uh, mean I consider us friends now after, you know, everything.”

Derek huffed once more, sitting up and ignoring Stiles’ attempts to get him to lie back down. _Friends_ , Derek thought. “Yeah, obviously,” he said with no emotion. He lifted himself off the couch, ignoring the pain and refusing help from Stiles. “Don’t listen to Deaton, I'm fine on my own. I've been human before, I know how they heal.” With that, he stood up and walked into the bathroom. He made no move to close the door, knowing that the conversation wasn't over.

Derek recalled how well Stiles had supported him when he was deaged and human. How he attempted to keep Kate away. Incompetent to do so and back to age, they had another nestled session about the lingering loss of his family. That night he at long last dealt with it instead of pushing it down. Stiles made time for more sessions, even with Peter being creepy, killer assassins, and a clingy coyote when they discovered Derek was turning human. When he evolved, they finally had a session that didn't have an ounce of pity. There were still tears, but it was more about being alive than anything.

“Why are you acting this way, Derek?” Stiles asked,stopping in the doorway. He folded his arms and leaned against it. The hurt in his voice was plainly heard, and he didn't want to lie to him. It was true that both of them had become closer in past few months, and if it wasn't for Derek’s lousy list, they probably would’ve been together by now. Derek noticed that the human had at least a little affection for him.

At first it was simply sexual, but not long after the break up he would look at Derek with care in his eyes. He made sure that the werewolf was included in pack activities, even an uncomfortable game of Twister that finished with Stiles on top of him. Stiles would show up at his door every week and drag him to the store just to make sure he had food. He would even text him every morning just to perk Derek up after his nightmares.

Derek groaned. He turned on the tap and splashed some water on his face. “I don't need anything from you.”

He heard Stiles scoff before coming closer. The werewolf could feel the warmth of his body behind him. “Yeah, okay,” Stiles said. Derek felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to face him. He watched as the younger man licked his lips once, saying carefully, “Maybe I need you.”

Derek closed his eyes, letting the counter support his weight. They were inching towards uncharted territory and Derek was afraid he wouldn't be able to pull away this time. He kept his eyes shut as Stiles started speaking again, “I know you think sacrificing your happiness is the right thing to do.” Derek found himself opening his eyes as he sensed him getting closer. Stiles’ hands were placed on either side of him, keeping him pressed against the counter and bringing them closer together.

“But it isn't, Derek, I promise you. Have you ever thought that I may need you more than you ever needed me? That our weekly get-togethers mean more to me than you? I k-killed someone, Derek! I killed...I killed Allison,” Stiles said, eyes wetter than before.

Derek huffed for the third time that night, wrapping his arms around Stiles. The werewolf felt him relax instantly. Derek realized that Stiles enjoyed the comfort that came with their time together, but he never thought he might need it too. “I don't know what your reasons are for stopping this, but please—don’t” Stiles murmured into his shoulder, mindful for his side as he returned the embrace.

“I can’t hold you back,” Derek whispered, placing his lips against the younger man’s brow, “wolves search for mates, the one person to spend forever with and you start college in a couple of months.”

“So come with me,” he replied, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal. Stiles must have felt him tense up, and pulled back to take a look at him, “Listen, before you go off and say ‘oh, you’re too young, Stiles, you deserve to explore and learn about yourself’, stop. You never asked what I wanted. You just gave up and decided for me.”

Derek huffed once more, an indication of defeat. In all his reasons, he never did take the time to think of what Stiles would want. Not even once did he give him a chance to say what he thought about it. Now that he was, Derek knew he would follow Stiles across the world and back just to be with him. Nothing in Beacon Hills was holding him back but himself.

  
Stiles smiled at him like he knew he was getting somewhere, “and, uh, maybe I want to be with you forever.” The idea knocked the breath of him. Derek moved closer so that their noses were brushing together. The human let out a tiny laugh, moving slightly so it turned into eskimo kisses.

“You have to be absolutely sure, Stiles.” Derek said, shutting his eyes and breathing in the soothing scent that was Stiles Stilinski. It felt warm and like home. “I can't do this and have you decide you'd rather not.”

In an instant he was gone, moving in front of him. A hand taking his own made Derek open his eyes, and they widened at the sight before him. Smiling huge and bright, Stiles was down on one knee. His cheeks flushed as he raised his other hand, offering him a grape Ring Pop. “If I had known this would happen, I would've gotten a real ring,” Stiles started. Derek felt his own cheeks redden, but nevertheless couldn't keep the grin off his face.

“You deserve a real one, but most of all, you deserve to be happy. I'm hoping—more like praying—that I can do that for you. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I want to be with you for however long you'll have me. So with this ring,” Stiles sighed with a nervous chuckle, “I ask you for forever, to be patient with me, be with me, but most of all, to love me.””

Derek bit the inside of his cheek throughout the little speech, only letting go to choke out an “okay.” Stiles’ grin seemed to widen almost impossibly and slipped the ring onto the other man’s finger. On one hand Derek’s fingers were too fat, and with Stiles being clumsy, the ring fell to the floor. It was silent for a few moments before they locked eyes and both of them lost it. Laughing caused pain in his side, but he ignored it in favor of yanking the boy back to his feet.

Derek brought his lover close and pressed their lips together for a soft kiss. Stiles sighed against him, groaning when they pulled apart. He made a noise of approval as the werewolf brushed their lips together once more. Then again. And again. They traded kisses for what seemed like hours, but never going any further. They both wanted to, but they didn't and kept it basic yet profound. They broke apart when Derek bumped against the counter, causing his side to burn.

Stiles ushered the older man to sit on the toilet, and peeled at the bandage. Someone, most likely Melissa, stitched up the bite wound, but it still looked disgusting. The wound was about the size of his hand with a yellowish tint around it, a small amount of blood trickling.

“You should probably shower before I change this.” Stiles said, looking distressed at the wound. After what just happened, Derek figured the human was even more worried about him.

Derek clasped his hands in the younger man’s, “I’ll be fine, promise,” he reassured him before casually sniffing his own musk. “You're probably right about the shower though. I stink.” The werewolf made quick work of unfastening his jeans before standing up to kick them off, not worrying about underwear. As Derek stepped into the walk-in shower, he heard Stiles sputtering behind him, reeking of lust. Turning on the water, the werewolf looked back at him and winked.

“You going to join me anytime soon?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! As for you, howl-at-the-wind, hope you enjoyed this. I may add another chapter to follow this up along with smut, (; 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


End file.
